I am a creative writer who has published poetry and prose, and written and directed a play and short film scripts. Most of these works are creative non-fiction.
I first learned filmmaking skills in a one-year extra-curricula course at La Trobe University in the late 1970s. Before going on to making short documentaries, I developed and delivered two Latin American History and Social Change through Film courses in the History Department (Institute of Latin American Studies) at La Trobe University (1990s).
I am a full member of Writers Victoria, was a member of the Board of Directors of Open Channel (2004–2005), which offers community-based film training opportunities and services in Victoria, and I have reviewed, researched and created study guides of work by other creative artists.
Performance: film and theatre
Produced, directed, wrote and narrated Mercury Stole My Fire (2005, 12 mins 12 secs), a short award-winning autobiographical doco.
Co-wrote, co-directed and co-produced The Rhythm and the Line (16mins) with Ruth Williams in 1999. Among other screenings, it was selected for the St Kilda Short Film Festival (May 2000) and Melbourne Fringe Short Film Festival (October 1999). The cinematographer was Janis Lesinskis.
Creative non-fiction play Servant of the Revolution premiered in Melbourne (2009), was performed in Central Victoria by Red Room Theatre (2016), was presented as a rehearsed play reading the Historical Materialism Sydney conference (2017) and has been translated into German (2017).
In 2001, I completed an Advanced Diploma of Professional Screenwriting at RMIT — two-year full-time industry-guided diploma covered all aspects of a screenwriter’s craft and business — gaining high distinctions in Script Analysis, Writing for Visual and Sound Narrative, Screenwriting Industry Integration Processes and all three levels of Script Editing. I gained distinctions in Documentary Film Screenwriting (lecturer, Dennis K Smith) and Film and Genre Analysis (lecturer, Paul Harris).
In 1999, I was awarded a Film Victoria documentary mentorship with Lawrence Johnston to write a still-to-be-produced documentary script ‘Sexy, Proud and Dead’. A DVD teaser/pitch of 4 mins has been created for this biographical documentary on disability activist Katie Ball.
Select publications: poems, prose, study guides, reviews and journalistic creative work
Cole C and Nelson A (2011) What kind of a community is a literary community? Paper presented at the Republics of Letters: Literary Communities in Australia symposium, University of Sydney, 13–14 January.
Nelson A (2002) ‘Identity and intrusion: Indigenous peoples and film representations’ paper presented at the Film and History Conference, Adelaide, 28 November–1 December.
NelsonA (1996) ‘A day in the life’ (review) Arena 25: 53–4.
Nelson A (1993) ‘Ourstory: A simple guide to the presentation of history’ in K Wilson (ed.) A Sense of Place: Shaping Oral Histories, Mount Alexander Diggings Development Association, Chewton: 1–28. (Chapter in book output of a creative radio-journalism youth-skilling Landcare and Environment Action Program of the Department of Business and Employment Victoria and Holmsgren TAFE.)
Nelson A (1992) ‘Making revolution’ (poem) Arena 98: 55.
I am a creative writer who has published poetry and prose, and written and directed a play and short film scripts. Most of these works are creative non-fiction.